


Can't do it

by Zafhira



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Gen, Hurt Everyone, I'm Going to Hell, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 00:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20417120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zafhira/pseuds/Zafhira
Summary: Tony couldn't breathe. This couldn't be true. Not the kid, not him. He took a step forward, looking at the bleeding arm.Peter Parker was bleeding from his arm, a sluggish, green colour that smelled of death.





	Can't do it

**Author's Note:**

> In honour of the Sony/Marvel dispute about our dear teenage spider I wrote this because I have no idea why. Heed the warnings, and I apologize for the radio silence. School's a bitch.

It started with a barrel. An empty barrel that fell from somewhere they didn't see, and before they knew it they were surrounded. Undead bodies coming in from a broken door they hadn't noticed, and then there were a hundred against six. "Mr Stark!" Peter screamed as he hit one of the undead over the head with a baseball bat. "Get the kid out!" Tony screamed to the others, focusing his gauntlet on the ones closest to himself. He could hear Natasha in the back, banging at something with all her might. And then he felt the rush of fresh air against the back of his head. "Clint! Grab the kid! Fury's got you covered!"

Tony wasn't going down without a fight, but damn these sons of bitches if they thought they would get his friends. He fired the gauntlet at two undead who were right behind Natasha and jumped back when another one fell in front of him, a big, fat bullet wound straight through its eye socket. "Careful Stark, no need to be careless" Fury said, in his usual calm voice. As if they weren't surrounded by undead. "Thanks, Nick. Now let's get them."

It was Tony, Fury and Hill against a hundred undead monsters, trying to guard the exit where their friends had fled. Arrows flew past their heads and found their targets from time to time, at least Clint was safely perched somewhere. It seemed like there was no end to the undead. At one point he could hear Hill swear, and then a rock was smashed into a head somewhere, the ugly squelching sound echoing in the warehouse. The fighting lasted for what felt like hours, Tony wasn't sure how they were still standing. His ever trusty gauntlet still firing powerful blasts.

"Get away!" someone, (Clint?) roared, and before Tony had time to think a huge chunk of the wall came rushing down on the mob of monsters. He felt someone grab his arm and pull at it. He followed the tugging, and then they were out. Fury was holding on to Hill, still clutching Tony's arm. Her leg was bleeding, a healthy red colour. No infection then. "Where's Nat and the kid?"

"They found a rooftop where the motherfuckers can't reach. I hope you're all up for some climbing," Clint said, looking carefully at Hill. He was above them, perched on a lamppost that was still somehow standing. How he got there Tony had no clue, he reckoned one had to be a bird to get there. Hill just shrugged, leaning away from Fury and testing her leg. Then she gave them an all-clear with a simple nod.

They trotted away towards another large building, Clint somehow managing to lead the way and still being high above the ground. Tony was used to it by now, but he would have loved to know how Clint did it. If he could figure it out maybe he could create some kind of support-device so the others could stay safely above ground as well. For now, it seemed to be a combination of great balance and sheer dumb luck.

It wasn't far away. Clint was suddenly climbing up a ladder that was stuck to a wall high enough up so the undead couldn't reach. Unfortunately, that meant it was somewhat of a challenge for them as well. Fury and Hill, after years of being partners, didn't even say anything before they got to work. Fury hosted Hill up on his shoulders, where she would be tall enough to reach Clint's stretching hand. "Give me a hand, Stark?" Tony did the same to Fury as Fury had done to Hill, and then he too was up.

Tony looked down at his leg. It was embraced with a piece of broken armour, what had once been his Iron Man suit. It had stopped working a week ago when an undead had managed to grab it and rip out one of the cords that connected the thrusters to the energy source in his chest. That day he'd almost died, looking into the dead eyes of his best friend as it dragged him to the ground. He was alive thanks to the kid, who'd used his baseball bat (a gift from Aunt May before the disaster) to knock Rhodey away. A piece of Tony died that day. 

"Okey old friend, I need you to work one last time." Tony looked at his gauntlet, carefully counting the chords going from the beam in his hand to the arc reactor. Four. Slowly he lirked one of the chords away from the others, tugging at it to dislodge it from the gauntlet. It wasn't long enough to reach the leg, but he had no choice. Leaning forward he found where the end had to meet the thrusters, and aiming his other hand at the end of the ladder Tony jabbed the end into the thruster.

The first time failed. He jumped up by the force of the thruster but didn't manage to right himself up fast enough, missing the ladder by a centimetre. His heart gave a painful jolt as the arc reactor gave away a powerful energy boost. The second time he managed to grab the ladder but lost his hold when his heart gave another jolt. "Come on Stark, you got this!" Clint encouraged him, looking worried at something in the distance. "Third time's a charm," Tony whispered to himself and jabbed the chord into the thruster again. This time he was prepared for the painful jump in his chest, and then there was a hand grabbing his free one, dragging him up. "Almost had us there for a moment. You know we're doomed if something happened to you?" Clint squeezed Tony's hand.

Together they climbed the ladder, this time Clint was at the bottom in case Tony lost his grip again. Never in a million years would Tony admit he was glad he had Clint.

The roof was big, and he couldn't see the others. Clint gently tugged his arm and together they walked over to a small hideout made out of some containers. Inside one of them, his eyes quickly found the red hair that belonged to Natasha. She was whispering to Fury, who was trying to tie a rag to Hill's bleeding leg. Tony darted his eyes to the Kid, and his heart stopped.

Tony couldn't breathe. This couldn't be true. Not the kid, not him. He took a step forward, looking at the bleeding arm.

Peter Parker was bleeding from his arm, a sluggish, green colour that smelled of death.

"Tony..." Clint tried, but Tony pushed him away. "What happened?" Tony asked, to anyone who could answer. "Mr Stark I'm so sorry! It happened so quickly! I lost May's bat and then there was a zombie on Miss Romanoff and I thought I could push it away but it grabbed me before it fell and it bit me and... Mr Stark, I'm so sorry!" The kid was crying. Tony could see his face, full of fear and pain and with a greenish tint. "You know what this means, Stark. We can't let him live like this, he'll turn into one of them by the end of the day. It's the only way."

Everyone ignored Fury. Tony couldn't focus on anything. All he saw was the Kid when they first met. When he lied to Aunt May about Peter receiving a scholarship and how he had to come live at a special dorm for gifted children. How he'd taught Peter about the arc reactor and seen him quickly learn everything. The first time he'd invited Peter to his private lab to work on what they'd hope would become Peter's own armour.

"Mr Stark..."

Peter was running down the street to greet him after a board meeting in Hong Kong that had lasted for two weeks, hugging him before Tony could react. Peter had fallen asleep on some of his blueprints, and Tony didn't even have to use the suit to lift the kid and carry him to Peter's dorm. Peter was eating icecream straight out of the box. Tony and Peter were eating icecream straight out of the box. Pepper was yelling at them for eating icecream straight out of the box.

"Mr Stark..."

The news about undead broke out while Peter was out on a date. MJ was the first they witnessed who succumbed to the Zombies as Peter called them, while he screamed her name. Tony dragged Peter away from her body, after putting his gauntlet to her temple. Peter dragging Tony away from Pepper after she got infected, refusing to let Tony watch as Natasha gave her a proper death. The two of them fighting back to back as the undead infiltrated Stark Industries. Tony carrying Peter on his back, sure they would die, when Clint and Natasha found them. The four of them finding Fury and Hill hiding in a bunker under New York.

"Mr Stark..."

Peter bleeding that sluggish, green colour that smelled of death.

"Mr Stark, please. I want you to do it. I trust you." The words snapped Tony out of his shock. He looked into the brown eyes, overflowing with tears. "Please, Mr Stark. I'm scared."

Tony hadn't noticed himself walking forward before he was mere steps away from the kid. "I... what... don't... can't..."

Peter was trembling. Every fibre in Tony's body told him to move forward, hold the kid, soothe his fears. But he couldn't. If Tony refused to believe it, it wasn't true. This was all a nightmare, a nightmare he would wake up from. Peter would wake him in a moment, being worried about Tony having another nightmare. And Peter would reassure him that he wouldn't die. He had May's bat. He could take care of himself.

Except there was no bat on the roof. The wind ruffled Tony's hair, a shiver running down his back. He could feel the wind. Was the wind real? There was a pain in his chest from the arc reactor. From the sight of the kid being hurt. He could feel the pain. Was the pain real? It couldn't be real. It was impossible.

There was a loud SMACK, and then Tony's cheek was burning. Someone had slapped him. What? Tony turned his head, looking straight at Natasha. "Get a grip Stark, we have more pressing matters than your panic attack." She stepped back, giving Tony a clear view of the kid again. And then the kid was in his arms.

Tony held the trembling body as tight as he could. Peter was whispering something, but Tony couldn't hear what he was saying. It didn't matter. He had Peter now, and Peter would be fine.

"Shh, it's alright kid. I'll fix it, I fix everything remember?" But Tony didn't believe his own words. How could he fix the kid when he couldn't fix Pepper or Rhodey?

The other let them have their moment, but Tony knew they were discussing what to do with the kid. It was already late, and the smell of death became stronger and stronger as time went by. Peter was still there, in his arms, when Natasa came over. She crouched by them, slowly stretching her arms around them in a hug. And then Tony could feel Clint's bigger arms around them. He didn't need to see it, but he knew that Hill, and even Fury, held them as well.

The kid was getting weaker in his arms. Tony could hear him struggling to take breaths. Whatever it was that made the undead would soon be all over the kid's body, and there was no going back. "Stark, we have to do it now," Fury said. They all let go of Tony and Peter, taking a step back. And then someone was holding out a gun. Tony looked at it in horror, remembering the kid's words about Tony killing him.

"I can't... I just... I can't..." he whispered, letting go of the kid. Peter was as pale as he'd never been, with that greenish tint hiding under his skin. But his eyes were still Peter's. They were still crying, full of fear and pain. And then Tony realised what was about to happen.

Before he knew it he'd gotten up, and he was out of the container and at the edge of the roof. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Someone shouted his name, but Tony couldn't go back. He couldn't face what was about to happen.

"Mr stark!"

The gunshot drowned out the desperate scream, and then there was silence. Tony couldn't think. Couldn't comprehend what he'd heard. What had just happened. It hadn't happened. It couldn't have.

Someone was hugging him from behind. Small, petite arms wrapped around his. "It's done," Natasha whispered.

It ended with a barrel. An empty barrel falling to the ground, still smoking when Tony got back to the others. Someone had laid Peter's body carefully on its side and closed his eyes. Tony could almost believe that he was sleeping, but Tony knew he wasn't. He hadn't cried for Pepper. He hadn't cried for Rhodey. He hadn't cried for the millions of people who had died in the same way. But for Peter Parker, Tony Stark cried his heart out.


End file.
